Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Stony Brook University is delighted to
announce that the Archive of Mesopotamian Site Reports (AMAR) has now
gone live in its almost final form. You can access it at
www.stonybrook.edu/amar. It contains digitized copies of nearly 600
archaeological site reports. These focus on Mesopotamia, but include
reports on the archaeology of Iran, the Gulf, Turkey, Syria, Armenia and
Lebanon. The books can all be downloaded without charge for personal
use only. This project was funded through the "Rebuild the Capabilities
of Iraq's Museum, Heritage and Archaeology Organizations Project" funded by the Iraq Cultural Heritage Project with and the International Relief and Development and the implementing NGO.

There are a couple of tweaks still
needed. We will add instructions for use in Arabic and English, and one
more book needs to be uploaded.

For those eager to begin working with
the archive, if you want to download all or part of a volume, click on
the arrow to the right of the box that says "document description" and
you will find the tools that you need.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Newsletters Documenting the Progress of Cultural Revitalisation Projects
in Kabul and HeratThese newsletters document the progress of the revitalisation projects
of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which began the rehabilitation
of Bagh-e-Babur, a walled and terraced garden containing the tomb of Babur,
the founder of the Mughal Empire, in 2002. The programme has expanded to
include the 19th-century mausoleum in central Kabul over the grave of Timur
Shah and a great number of homes, mosques and other structures in the war-damaged
quarters of Asheqan wa Arefan, Chindawol and Kuche Kharabat. In Herat, in
western Afghanistan, a range of documentation, conservation and upgrading
works has also been carried out since 2005 in surviving historic sections
of the old city.

When
Peter Brown published The World of Late Antiquity, AD 150-750 in 1971
he included the Sasanians. That seems to have been the first time that
happened in English, although Franz Altheim and Ruth Stiehl had entitled
their study of Sasanian taxation Finanzgeschichte der Spätantike in
1957. However the latter was only about Sasanian Iran and not a general
treatment of finance in Late Antiquity that included the Sasanians. ...
READ MORE

The Armenian History by Agathangelos written in the mid‐5th century and nar‐rating about
the conversion of Armenia to Christianity in the early fourth century was soon translated into Greek
and other languages: Arabic, Old Russian, and Georgian. There also exist shorter re¬cen¬sions
(known as The Life of St. Gregory) in Karshuni, Ethio‐pian, Coptic, Greek, Georgian, Latin, and
Arabic. The Greek version of the History is extant in nine manuscripts dating from the 8th‐12th cc.
Only one of them, kept in the Laurentian library of Florence, Plut. VII, cod. Gr. 25 (12th c.), contains
nine initial para‐graphs absent from the Armenian original and from the other recensions. ... READ MORE

The deep impression of Iran upon all aspects of early mediaeval Armenia has long been recognized.
Although linguists may have taken the lead in tracing this influence, scholars in all disciplines,
particularly historians and theologians, have unearthed multiple parallels and connections between the
two cultures. The penetrating studies by Garsoïan and Russell over the past four decades have proved
to be particularly influential, to the extent that no scholar today would seriously contemplate studying
early mediaeval Armenia without acknowledging its Iranian heritage.1 Indeed such is the degree of
unanimity over the level of Iranian influence upon all aspects of Armenian society and culture that the
contention has begun to operate in the opposite direction. Armenian sources have been exploited to
shed light upon Iranian, and specifically Sasanian, history. ... READ MORE

Recently we have had a chance to see a unique gold coin of Shapur I. Unfortunately the
location of this coin today is unknown to us. At first sight, the coin looks like the usual issues of
Shapur I (particularly the iconography in obverse), but exploration of some details in reverse
give us cause to suppose that it was minted for a certain occasion.
Shapur I continued the regional policy of his predecessor, Artashir I, from the beginning of
his reign. A series of victories against the Roman Empire opened the way to conquer Armenia,
which was the main success of Sasanian Iran in the West. Shapur I represented his glorious
victories against Roman Empire in rock sculpture and took a new title, king of kings Iran and
non‐Iran, as a result of his successful policy. ... READ MORE

The
reign of Bōrān and, afterwards that of her sister Āzarmīgduxt, although
short‐lived, were historically significant. No other woman ascended the
Sasanian throne, in her own rights, before or after them. The
significance is even greater in view of the social and cultural
limitations placed on women in Sasanian Iran, as discussed in the
studies presented by scholars such as Jamsheed K. Choksy, Albert De
Jong, and Mansour Shaki. This paper investigates the factors that
legitimized the rise of these women to the throne through the
examination of the ideas of Iranian kingship in general and Sasanian
imperial ideology in particular. ... READ MORE

There
are few studies in existence which explore the Sasanian historical
geography. The pioneering work of Marquart on the historical geography
of the Sasanian Empire in the book of Ps.- Moses of Chorene is one of
the earliest studies of its kind. Later discoveries of numismatic and
sigillographic finds, as well as publications on and editions of
literary and material evidence, relevant to the historical geography and
administrative organization of the Sasanian Empire did not change
things dramatically, but did help to complete and in some cases correct
early impressions. During the last decades R. Gyselen and Ph. Gignoux
have significantly contributed to the field of Sasanian historical and
administrative geography through their publications and scrutiny of the
sigillographic, numismatic and written sources. ... READ MORE

Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine; Keyvan Safdari, University of California, Irvine

This
article brings to light some ten Spāhbed bullae which are housed at the
Barakat Gallery in London. Their provenance is unknown, but they are
dominantly (seven) from the kust ī nēmrōz “Southeastern Quarter” of the
Sasanian Empire. There is also a bulla from kust ī xwarōfrān
“Southwestern Quarter,” another from the kust ī xwarāsān “Northeastern
Quarter,” and a unique, mostly illegible and unpublished bulla among the
collection as well. Before dealing with the Barakat collection it is
important to provide a historiography of the study of the Spāhbed bullae
and its significance for Sasanian history and civilization. ... READ MORE

Despite
very recent discoveries – which are, however mainly fortuitous ones –
the archaeology of pre-Islamic Iran is still badly known. This is
particularly true for the Sasanian period (224-651), a kind of “golden
age” for Persian art and culture that is remembered in later Islamic
sources as the apogee of the Persian Empire. It is a well-known fact
that written sources are practically absent in pre-Islamic Iran if one
excludes official inscriptions in Pahlavi on rock reliefs and the
coinage. For this reason, the archaeological investigation should have
an important role in the reconstruction of the Sasanian past. ... READ MORE

The
proper term for law is the Middle Persian dād although the meaning of
dād is more complex than the Western concept of law. In fact, several
texts attest to the dual meaning of dād as both law and religion,
sometimes understood as a religious law, sometimes as a synonym of
religion, sometimes as a secular law or the king’s command. It is only
the context of the text which is helpful to decide which meaning was
referred to.
In the Pahlawi Riwāyat Accompanying the Dādestān ī Dēnīg dād has the
dual meaning of religion and law: ’when someone goes over from the
(religious) law to which he belongs to another law he is margarzān,
because he is deserting the Good Religion, and he is taking up this bad
law’. ... READ MORE

This
paper aims to show how a numismatist can isolate a coin type that
provides evidence about a particular political situation, whose real
nature has to be discovered by the historian.
We show first how, from a corpus of more or less representative coinage
(A), the numismatic scholar can identify a series of coinage (B). If the
scholar believes that the series has a sufficient number of typological
and stylistic characteristics that distinguish it from general coinage
production, he/she will attribute it to a specific source, that is, to a
specific mint (C1). ... READ MORE

The
reign of Kavad the first is probably the most interesting in Sasanian
history. The chaos caused by Mazdakism during his reign lead to a
restored, strong, monarchy under his son and successor. Kavad I had two
reigns, 488 to 496 and 499 to 531 AD. He succeeded Valkash (484-488) but
was soon deposed by his brother Zamasp (496-499). Three years in exile
Kavad recovered his throne and was eventually succeeded by his son, one
of the most remarkable Sasanian kings, Khusro I (531-579). Kavad had
numerous coin types. The one that interests us here is his first type.
It was used during his first reign, showing no date, and was then used
during the first two years of his second reign, being known for years 11
and 12. A new type was introduced in year 13. ... READ MORE

Daryoush Akbarzadeh, National Museum of Iran; Touraj Daryaee, University of California, Irvine

Sasanian
bullae are important objects in understanding the economic and
administrative history Ērānšahr. The bulla which is a seal impression
onto clay was used as a signatory device for commodities and letters.
Until now a large number of collections from both museums and private
collectors have been published, and with each publication our knowledge
of economic, social and administrative history of Ērānšahr deepens. The
collection under study here provide further evidence to different
localities, some known and others of unknown provenance. However, these
collections provide a microcosm of economic history of several provinces
of the Iranian Plateau. By studying these collections one is able to
gather detailed information on the administrative function of the
specific Zoroastrian priests, religious endowments, accountants and
other personalities who were traders and businessmen. ... READ MORE

The
recently discovered and published Bactrian documents are a series of
150 land-sale contracts, legal judgments, deeds of manumission, sales
receipts, tax-lists, and letters regarding commercial matters. These
have been found, since 1990, in various markets in northern Pakistan and
have found their way into the collections of antique dealers in Europe.
The vast majority of the documents are now in possession of Dr. David
Naser Khalili of London, with a few pieces in the collection of antique
dealers in Europe and the Middle East. With the exception of a few, the
documents are written on leather, both tanned and un-tanned. ... READ MORE

The
Caucasus is a land of diverse population and beliefs. Today,
Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Yazidis live in cities and villages in
the valleys and gorges of the region. One religion that had a strong
impact on ancient Armenia, Georgia, and the Republic of Azerbijan was
Zoroastrianism. While the sources and views of Zoroastrianism are mainly
from its homeland, Iran, Zoroastrianism also flourished in the Caucasus
in conjunction with the local, native religions of the region. Kartveli
or Georgia was converted to Christianity in the fourth century CE. The
traditional date given for this momentous event in the history of
Georgia is 337 CE. According to Christian sources, King Mirian (Mihran)
converted from “paganism,” but a closer look at the sources suggests
that the king and the people of ancient Georgia were worshipers of
Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda). ... READ MORE

The Maritime
Archaeology Unit (MAU) was founded in 2001 under the aegis of the Mutual
Heritage Centre. It is managed by the Central Cultural Fund and
sponsored by the Netherlands Cultural Fund for specific projects.
Following the early research and explorations connected with the Galle
Harbour Project of 1992, the Central Cultural Fund (CCF) and the
Department of Archaeology took the initiative to make maritime
archaeologists and conservators out of the archaeology graduates from
the relevant institutes and the universities. Our main intention is to
develop the maritime archaeological field in Sri Lanka in order to
protect our valuable underwater cultural heritage.

Sri Lanka is situated at
a location where all shipping routes in the Indian Ocean meet. It has a
very long coastline for an island which is so small. We also have a
long recorded history during which we came into contact with all other
seafaring people of the most countries who came here, mostly for trade.
They referred to our country in glowing terms. They also made records of
Sri Lankan visitors to foreign countries such as Rome and China.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Griffith Institute has now completed the project to identify and
digitize over 1000 tracings made by Norman and Nina de Garis Davis in
Theban tombs in the early twentieth century. These tracings were too
fragile for consultation and therefore unavailable up until 10 years ago
when the whole collection was rehoused and a systematic digitization
programme initiated.

High resolution scans of all of the tracings are available, for further
information please email: griffith.institute@orinst.ox.ac.uk

We would like to thank everyone involved with this project, especially
Ms Jenni Navratil and Dr Hana Navratilova for the long hours spent
photographing the original tracings and subsequent digital editing, and
Dr Jaromir Malek for his direction and patience.

This freely downloadable publication provides a new survey of
inscribed wooden boards from Egypt and the East. Excluded are mummy
labels and related texts, various wooden objects carrying inscriptions,
carved rather than inked texts, and Arabic, Aramaic and Hebrew boards.
It has an appendix on wooden tablets from the West (which we are
currently integrating into Trismegistos as well). The order is
alphabetical according to the modern toponyms of the collections in
which the tabulae are preserved.

This is the second instalment in the TOP-series from someone who is
not working directly for Trismegistos or one of its satellite projects
(although Klaas Worp is one of the most active 'outsiders' sending us
his most welcome corrections on a regular basis). Trismegistos Online
Publications remains available to all as a peer-reviewed series aiming
to provide freely downloadable pdf-documents with scholarly tools based
upon or providing links to the Trismegistos database.

Human Origins is a British-based
peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal dedicated to human origins
research and Palaeolithic archaeology. Funded by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council, we offer a broad and interdisciplinary emphasis on
Palaeolithic archaeology as well as primatology, osteology, evolutionary
psychology, ethnography, palaeo-climatology, geology, anthropology and
genetics (phylogeography).We are currently inviting submissions and welcome short interim reports from the
field (1000 words), medium-length discussions (3000 words), and longer research
contributions (6000 words). If you are interested in submitting to Human Origins please read our submission guidelines.

The Importance of Conveying Visual Information in Acheulean Society. The Background to the Visual Display HypothesisPages 1-23John McNabbThe Identity Model: A Theory to access Visual Display and Hominin Cognition within the PalaeolithicPages 24-40
James ColeHominin Tool Production, Neural Integration and the Social BrainPages 41-64Derek HodgsonRethinking Phylogeny and Ontogeny in Hominin Brain EvolutionPages 65-91
Fiona Coward and Matt GroveThe pdf of the journal is hyperlinked, blue hyperlinks will take
you straight to the images and the red hyperlinks back to the original
page you were reading.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The collection of Cairo Genizah fragments held at the
Bodleian Libraries is one of major collections of its kind. Acquired
over the years since 1890 it consists of about 4,000 fragments. Skilful
selection ensured that the Bodleian Genizah holdings became one of the
most important collections worldwide, featuring Bible, Early Rabbinic
literature (Midrash, Mishnah and Talmud), numerous liturgical fragments
(Piyyutim and Selichot), many legal documents and letters, both personal
and commercial. Its significance lies particularly in the remarkable
size of many of the documents. The 4000 fragments comprise about 25,000
pages, amounting to over six pages per fragment, an average unparalleled
elsewhere. Some items consist of whole quires, thus deserving the
designation manuscripts rather than fragments. Talmud fragments of ten
pages or more are no exception in this collection: Tractate Berakhot is
represented with a manuscript of 32 pages (Ms. Heb. c. 17/32); of
tractate Sukkah 72 pages (Ms. Heb. e 51) are preserved and for tractate
Sotah we have 160 pages (Ms. Heb. d. 20/2) at our disposal. An
exceptionally exciting example are the twenty pages of Maimonides’s
draft manuscript of his Mishneh Torah with corrections in 4 consecutive
stages in his own hand (Ms. Heb. d 32, fols.47a-56b).

The online catalogue is based upon
the printed catalogue of the Hebrew manuscripts in the Bodleian Library
(second volume) by Adolf Neubauer and Arthur Ernst Cowley (1906) and the
typewritten catalogue of additional Genizah fragments by Arthur Ernst
Cowley (ca 1929).

The classification of the fragments
by subject in the printed catalogue in line with the first volume of
Neubauer’s catalogue of Hebrew manuscripts at the Bodleian library is -
as mentioned in the introduction by Arthur Cowley - problematic.
Fragments from the Cairo Genizah were collected by the Bodleian Library
in successive acquisitions, which after arrival were bound up in
volumes. As a consequence volumes often, despite a careful and focussed
acquisition policy, contain under one heading fragments on different
subjects. In the online catalogue all fragments of a volume can be
searched by subject.
The printed catalogue includes 166 volumes, containing in all about
2,675 fragments. The typewritten catalogue consists of 58 volumes with
1094 fragments. It is to be noticed, however, that the total number of
3769 fragments concerns those of which the Cairo Genizah provenance
explicitly is stated. The digital access to the Bodleian Genizah
collection will facilitate the identification of a considerable number
of fragments, whose provenance were hitherto unknown, but which
probably also found their way from Cairo to Oxford.

Research results published within tried-and-tested system using plug-ins

21-02-2012

The Internet makes it possible to present publications in combination with related research data, as Enhanced Publications. The Enhanced Journals…Made Easy
project (EJME), which is funded by SURF, has designed a practical work
process for publishers of Open Access journals so as to enhance academic
journals with the associated data files. The project involved the
development of two plug-ins for Open Journal Systems,
a system for managing and publishing journals. Open Journal Systems
(OJS) is the most frequently used open source package worldwide for
academic journals.

Open Journal SystemsOJS is used internationally to promote and increase access to
research results. It is used for more than 10,000 journals. The plug-ins
developed during the EJME project add capabilities to OJS. The University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, DANS (Data Archiving and Network Services), and Amsterdam University Press
have made use of a tried-and-tested system for creating enhanced
publications so as to stick as close as possible to the publication
process used by researchers.

Publication processAuthors and editors who use OJS can now easily add data files
to articles, including the associated metadata. The data files are then
available – without any extra action being necessary – for everyone
involved in the editorial process, including peer reviewers. When the
article is published, there are references to the datasets, both on the
webpage and in a machine-readable file. It is also important that the
editorial team can make it possible for the data to be automatically
submitted to a reliable data repository when the article is published. According to Jeroen Sondervan
(Amsterdam University Press), “This integration of research data and
results on the one hand and publications on the other creates a
completely new way of assessing, verifying, and publishing. The
combination of OJS and the EJME plug-ins brings this a step closer.”

Practical testingThe EJME plug-ins link up with the work process followed by the
editors of Open Journals: from the researcher’s intention to publish to
the Open Access publication of the article. The plug-ins that have been
developed have been tested in practice by two journals published by two
different publishers:
• Journal of Archaeology in the Low Countries (JALC), published by Amsterdam University Press (AUP)
• International Journal of the Commons (IJC), published by UBU/Igitur Publishing.

Public Knowledge ProjectStaff of the international OJS are enthusiastic about the EJME
plug-ins and have included them in their plug-in library. “We are very
happy with what EJME has done. The plug-ins are extremely useful and
robust, and the documentation is clear and well written," says Kevin Stranack
of Public Knowledge Project (PKP), the organisation that manages and
develops the OJS. PKP is negotiating with Utrecht University regarding
collaboration to improve the functionality for depositing research data
via OJS.

KERDOMNEL KHMER (Khmer Heritage) is the first magazine
in the Kingdom of Cambodia which focuses on arts, archaeology, history,
epigraphy, ethnology, sociology,painting, cultural tourism, and so on.
The magazine, of which a trial issue has now been published, will also
provide information to readers on exhibitions, meetings, workshops, and
publications on the arts and archaeology in Southeast Asia and countries
around the world. The people involved in founding and researching for KERDOMNEL KHMER Magazine
are local and international professors and students, both within and
outside the country, who are conducting projects on archaeology,
architecture, history, sociology, cultural tourism, and publishing.

The magazine will be used to spread
information and share news to readers, especially the younger generation
and persons in regional areas. It is intended to educate people in the
importance of cultural legacy and national heritage in order to promote
conservation and protection. To facilitate understanding by a wide range
of readers, the published articles will be simply written and will try
to avoid unnecessary technical terms. All data and information related
to our project will be hosted at www.kerdomnel-khmer.org.

While the magazine has its own
researchers to call on, we will also welcome any articles related to
Khmer culture and civilization by researchers who wish to publish in our
magazine, and we will also welcome any feedback from our reader through
a “Letters to the Editor” section.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

I
have added links to LDAB and other sources of online information at the
home institution of the papyrus wherever possible. I have normalized
the papyrological references. The re-editions themselves have an
unconventional presentation, and no printable version is yet available.

The Center for the Documentation of Ancient Law (CDDA) was establishedby
the Law Faculty of Paris in 1960. Today it is supported jointly by the
University of Paris-II (Panthéon-Assas) and by the National Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS). The CDDA compiles a subject bibliography
database called DRANT (DRoits ANTiques "Ancient Law") which specializes
in the legal, political, economic and social institutions of the ancient
Mediterranean world. The DRANT database covers not only the
institutions of Ancient Greece and Rome, but also Persia, the Near East
and Egypt. While the focus of the database is legal institutions, the
listings include numerous references to other topics which are bound to
be of interest to a legal historian: papyrology, epigraphy, numismatics,
archeology, the history of religions, etc. The references in the
database are compiled by surveying all the specialist literature: books,
articles in some 420 French and foreign journals, articles in
anthologies, conference proceedings, critical reviews, etc. The CDDA
analyses approximately 4000 articles and books per year, and includes on
average 2000 for the database. To date, the database contains over
56,000 references.

The Land of Israel has always attracted professional and amateur
photographers. Over the years, archives, institutions and individuals
have kept rare collections, documenting its unique views and people. The
university's library operates for the digital conservation and
documentation of these contents, in order to keep them from wearing out
and to provide accessibility for education and research purposes.

In the website are photographs from various sources that were donated to the library's Digital Media Center.

The digital collection is part of the work done by the library of Haifa
University. Its purpose is to expose and provide accessibility to
historical photographs of the Land of Israel. The project started as
cooperation with the department of Land of Israel Studies in Haifa
University and Bitmuna project.

The library staff scans and
catalogues the photographs. Identification of documented locations,
people and events is done with the help of collection owners,
information received from users, and the kind help of Mr. Roni
Kenisberg.

The website allows access to the library's
photographs collections according to theme, chronology or geography. It
also allows access to the Digital Media Center's search options, where
you can search freely for various materials.

All the photographs
in the Historical Photographs of the Land of Israel website are
available to the public, under fair use and copyright limitations.

We would be glad to have your response, as well as more information and identifications of photographs, to: dmc@univ.haifa.ac.il

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Prehistoric Society's interests are world wide and extend from the
earliest human origins to the emergence of written records. The Society
promotes prehistoric research; facilitates access to the results of this
research; and recognises excellence, through its Awards and Grants. It also acts as an important advocate for prehistoric archaeology

We are migrating Book Reviews over from the old site.
Whilst we carry this work out previous Book Reviews can still be accessed via our previous website

The primary focus of the project is notice and comment on open access material relating to the ancient world, but I will also include other kinds of networked information as it comes available.

The ancient world is conceived here as it is at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, my academic home at the time AWOL was launched. That is, from the Pillars of Hercules to the Pacific, from the beginnings of human habitation to the late antique / early Islamic period.

AWOL is the successor to Abzu, a guide to networked open access data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world, founded at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago in 1994. Together they represent the longest sustained effort to map the development of open digital scholarship in any discipline.